smilingcrow

Thanks all. I’ve decided to scrap the NH1 because of the battery issue and all that proprietary stuff et al. I picked up a new NH700 at a good price, and can’t really justify the extra expense of a NH900. I’m glad I started the thread as it’s made me aware of in-car power invertors. I picked up a 150W unit today for £20. It’s bulkier and more expensive than a simple DC voltage converter but far more flexible. I can recharge a laptop and even an NH1, provided I remember the cradle Happy charging.

I did a bit more detective work and came up with the following information on the power supply outputs: NH1 6V 800 mA NH700 3V 1,000 mA I’ve sourced a 1,500 mA car adapter which supports both voltages; I need it that high for my Zen Xtra. Is it okay to use a converter which is rated for a higher number of mA?

You're right of course, and I already have a thread open regarding the subject! I find it so hard to make equipment choices without being able to handle the bloody things, aaagh.

Thanks for all the replies. I read the online pdf manuals and noticed that the NH1 is 6V whereas the NH900/RH910 are 3V. Does anyone know what ampage the NH1 and NH900/Rh910 power supplies output? I can get a universal car adapter from Maplin for £9 that handles both those voltages and outputs 1A, not sure if that’s enough though? It comes with 6 interchangeable tips, which begs the question, are the DC-In connections on the Sony power supplies non standard? Another option is to get a Belkin AC Anywhere car adapter, which will be flexible enough to handle anything I throw at it within the unit’s power range. This gives you a standard 2 or 3 pin power socket (country specific) that you can treat like a wall socket. The 140W watts AC 230V UK version is £31 at Amazon. That will take care of all my charging needs without me having to worry about getting the exact voltage and amps matched. It’s starting to look attractive right now as I need a charger for my Zen Xtra and any other gear that I take camping with me. See link below: http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage...oduct_Id=122375 The NH900 is starting to look more attractive to me, although it’s the same price as the RH910! I prefer the look of the NH910 due to the larger screen and can live with the remote not being an LCD. For use just as a voice recorder are there any significant disadvantages with the RH910 versus the NH900?

I have an NH1 on order but it’s just dawned on me that I may be away from mains power for quite a while whilst camping. Is there a generic car power adapter that I can use to charge the Sony? What do I need to lookout for when buying one of these units? i.e. amps, tip type etc. I have a car charger that charges AA & AAA, so I may have to return the NH1 and buy one of the other models that accepts AA batteries. I tried searching the forum but ‘car’ is too short a word for the search engine.

Thanks for all the input. One potential advantage of 2nd generation HiMD recorders, is that the recording level meters are much bigger than on the 1st generation units. For some reason the 1st generation units only used about half of the available screen width to display the recording level meters. Not sure if that results in tangible gains in the field, but it sounds a good thing in my book. After looking in more depth at the various units, I decided it comes down to personal preference rather than anything more objective. I managed to get a look and handle a NH1 and lost some of my enthusiasm for it. The remote seems to have as many minuses as plusses. Since I see no clear cut winner here I’ll be more influenced by price than I was initially.

Thanks, I'll check those recommendations out.

I want to use a HiMd recorder to keep a journal and record some interviews whilst travelling. I’m wondering what sort of microphone is good for recording speech? I want to keep the equipment as compact as possible and to that effect I’ve been looking at a couple of Sony’s: ECM-MS907 & ECM-719 They are both electret condenser mics; are they suitable for speech recording? Any other suggestions up to $150? I intend to use the mic pre-amp on the MD recorder rather than an external box. Any help appreciated as I’m not up on microphones.

I’m investigating buying a HiMd recorder as a voice recorder. My only hands on experience was with a MZ-NH700 which I disliked from an ergonomic perspective; the jog dial and small screen I found a hassle. Now that the NH1 is at a reasonable price and the 2nd generation units are available, I’m wondering if the ergonomics have been improved to my taste! After looking at the NH1 user guide it sounds very similar to the NH700 in general operation, except for the fact that it uses an LCD remote as the main control area. Is the NH1 LCD remote any easier to use than working with the NH700s controls? Is the NH1 more sturdy in construction than the NHx00 series MDs? As for the RH910 and RH10, they certainly look more user friendly with the larger screens. Are they easier to work with in practice? I’m only interested in these units as voice recorders, as I have other devices for MP3 playback. I’m also looking at memory card based recorders from Edirol & Marantz, but the MDs size and price makes them worth investigating. Any help appreciated as it would be nice to get this purchase right first time, without having yet another eBay sale

Thanks, I know the answer seemed obvious, but I wanted to be 100% sure. Crow

Can anyone recommend a supplier of binaural microphones in the UK? Also, am I right in assuming that the MZ-NH700 will work with microphones that don’t require external power? Crow

Thanks Concert Pitch, I’m aware that microphones don’t work with a line level input. My USB interface does have a microphone input, but it is not powered. My question was; does the Sony ECM-DS70P require an input channel that does provide power? I believe that the MZ-NH700 does provide power. I will almost certainly buy two separate microphones anyway, but I’m trying to ascertain what the electrical requirements of each microphone are first. It would be preferable if I have the flexibility of using either microphone with either recording device. Crow

Thanks. I’m looking at the spec on the Sony website and it talks about ‘Plug-In Power’. Does this mean it will only work with a powered pre-amp? I’d like to also be able to use the microphone that I buy with my USB audio interface, which doesn’t provide power via the mic-in. Crow

Thanks Dex, The Binaurals sound interesting. I have no experience of such things and I'll need to read up on them. Crow

Thanks, I forgot to mention that my budget is £30 - 50 and that I live in the UK. I'm just experimenting at the moment, so not looking to spend a large amount of money at this stage. Crow